"In romance movies, the hard part was saying I love you, not what happened after the credits rolled. That was were the real stories began."

6 months ago our main characters Haley and Harrison had a fling. After that Harry leaves Haley. Fast-forward now their stuck writing a screenplay together. Not only that, but Harry HATES romance. But will they get through this project and will Haley be able to convince Harry love is worth it?

I liked the characters in this novel. I found them all to be charming, even Harry. He is stubborn, but not enough to make you hate him. You can definitely see what he is passionate about when it comes to work or his emotions.

I loved how the book was written. I thought it was interesting how the setting details were at the beginning of each chapter. It made it feel more like a screenplay. I've never seen that in a book before, so it was very charming to read.

If you like Hallmark movies or just romance in general you should definitely check this book out.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @netgalley and Victory Editing for an early copy of Not My Love Story by Dani McLean. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Not My Love Story tells a forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine romance novella about Harrison and Hayley, two screenwriters who are forced to work together to create a romantic comedy storyline. Despite Harrison’s reluctance as he wants nothing to do with anything romantic, the city’s Valentine’s Festival kept pushing him into romantic settings and events, of course with Hayley, to whom he’s been attracted to.

The story starts right on with Harrison and Hayley being thrown in to work together on a rom-com, with no setup for the plot whatsoever. While I understand that this is a novella and its omission might have been necessary, a little background or context would have been nice.

I loved the characters’ banter. Harrison was so anti-romantic while Hayley was just there, laughing and teasing him. We got to see his attraction to Hayley and bits and pieces of their past encounters throughout the book, though while those exist, I found Harrison to be so much of a pessimist that I couldn’t feel the depth of his feelings for Hayley nor their chemistry together. The sexual tension throughout the book didn’t help with the chemistry.

I really wanted to love this novella as it has so much potential and would have been better if it was an entire novel. I loved the cover though! It looks really pretty. Rating Not My Love Story ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases January 3rd, 2023.

Thank you to Victory Editing, a NetGalley Co-Op, for sending me an ARC of Not My Love Story by Dani McLean!

I was so excited to receive this an ARC of Not My Love Story after reading Midnight, Repeated back in August. Not My Love Story is a hilarious Romantic Comedy about a surly screenplay writer, Harrison. When Harrison has to work with the perfect and beautiful Hayley on a romantic comedy script, strange things begin to happen to him. Suddenly, his life is full of clichés that are supposed to only happen in the movies! Will these moments be a source of inspiration or will they continue to fuel his anti-romance fire?

This is an adult book, there is a spicy scene, and I love the communication/verbal consent.

Favorite Quote:
"I know my stories aren't always reflective of real life, but why can't they be? Embrace the possibility of love at every moment? Why don't we strive to make reality more like a romance? Why not let hope drive us and motivate us to find something truly meaningful?"

Some Tropes I love:
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- He Falls First
- Forced Proximity
- Work Rivals
- One Bed

I requested this ARC book because it was a novella which makes it a pretty quick read. I have never read a story that was written like a screenplay. I got lost in the beginning of the book when Harrison learned that he had to write a romance book with a co-writer. Then I got even more confused when he was talking about the male barista and another male making a pass at him. I’m not quite sure why the author went in that direction in just those two spots.

Absolutely LOVED this novella. The chemistry, the second chance, the slow burn, the unexplained magic, the cheesiness. I just love it all and adore this series.

Overall this book was ok, there were some things not working in the story’s favor. I wasn’t a fan of the POV only being from the male main character’s perspective. Harrison was pessimistic and broody for a lot of the book, which also didn’t help my attempt to settle into his POV. I feel like the single POV also caused a lot of the chemistry that should’ve been present between the main characters to be non-existent. Despite this, the book did have some cute moments, and I definitely saw the potential.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Spice level: 2.5 out of 5

This book was a novella, so it was a very easy read, that was the only thing I liked about this book.
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Hayley and Harrison were a cute couple i want to fall in love with them, but there were too many tropes in the book.
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I wanted both MCs POVs, unfortunately it was only the MMC's POV that was available. I was also annoyed at Harrison's cynical uptake on love, it was over the top
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Moreover, I wanted more of the couple's backstory, their history, I felt the book was rushed.
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I think that this book would have been better if it had been a novel and not a novella

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Harrison is a screenwriter, and cynical about love. The last thing he wants to do is write a rom-com. But getting out of his contract is good incentive, and his other incentive is his co-writer, Hayley. He hasn’t forgotten about their history, and he’s still attracted to her despite their differences. They have a week to spend together writing this screenplay.

This is book 2 of Dani McLean’s Movie Magic series. I also got the opportunity to read an ARC of the first book, Midnight Repeated, and really enjoyed that one. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. For a novella, it was trying to do too much. I felt like we came into the middle of the story, had no backstory, and missed a lot of details. There was also a lot of random stuff thrown in that could’ve been a lot more meaningful. There was a very casual mentioning of Harrison’s bisexuality. The “magic” of the town was fun, but such a small piece.

All that being said, I’m rating it 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. I see the potential in the story, and I did enjoy parts of it. But I think it deserved a lot more, and I would’ve loved to read the more developed full-length novel.

OH MY GOODNESS! I absolutely adore Dani's writing! I get so lost in the stories and the Movie Magic novellas are pure perfection! The magic and power these books have is so incredible. They are super unique and creative. Such an inspiration for writers everywhere. Harry and Hayley's story was just magnificent, from the doubts, to the banter, to the romance, it was all so beautifully written. These books, even though very fictional, feel so real, with their own twist of magic. The characters have their own battles they must face, and walls to break down, but one they face their fears and knock down those walls, that's when the real magic begins. I adored this read, and blew through it in a few hours. I cannot wait for the third one!

Thank you, Dani McLean, and NetGalley for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not My Love Story is such a fun novella. It is about two screenwriters, Harrison and Hayley, who are forced to work on a romance movie script together. Hayley is a hopeless romantic and loves rom-coms and all of their cliches. Harrison hates rom-coms and is very grumpy about having to write one. To make things worse, he has to write it with Hayley, the woman he is very attracted to.

The first half of the story was a bit slow for me, but it did a good job at setting the scene. In the second half, the tension between Hayley and Harrison really built up. I could almost feel the tension between the two of them! I was rooting for the couple all the way through!

Overall, I enjoyed this story.

P.S.: Shout-out to the author for having such an amazing dedication:
“For anyone who has to defend their love of romance or any other interest that other people have deemed ‘not cool’. Your interests are valid and so are you. People and romance come in all different shapes and sizes. Like what you like, read whatever you want, and be whoever you want to be, wonderful and unashamed!”

Many thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for gifting me a digital advanced reader copy to review.

What a beautiful novel!! I really liked it, it's fast and cute to read! 🤍🤍
Two writers who had something before and months later meet again to work together? She who believes in love and happy endings, while he doesn't? I love it🥰, it's a grumpyXsunshine, I also liked its hot scenes🙈, it was fun to read, highly recommended if you want to read something fast and beautiful.

Thanks netgalley for this Arc!

"Sometimes hope is as good as happiness."

This was such a fun and romantic Valentine's Day story! I couldn't stop reading once I'd started! I only wish it had been longer but then again I think this worked perfectly as a short story and I liked this one better than the first one in the series. I can easily see myself reading this again on Valentine's Day ❤

Thank you Dani McLean, Victory Editing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

A huge thank you to Dani McLean, Victory Editing Co-Op, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Not My Love Story comes out January 03, 2023!

Not My Love Story is a short, sweat and steamy novella about a man who doesn't believe in love but is being forced to write a romantic comedy film. To get out on his noncompete film writing contract Harrison is willing to do anything, even though he is very resentful that the anything is writing a rom com with the woman he slept with six months ago and can't get out of his head. Hayley is a woman who believes in love and has made a career out of writing rom coms. Together they have a week to write an amazing script, and in the process, Harrison will discover that he might believe in love after all.

Not My Love Story was such a cute read, it's very short it took me about an hour to read. Harry develops into a MMC that is genuine and loving, a complete turnaround from the beginning. I honestly felt that even though it was short there was a perfect amount of development for them to make a realistic go of it. If you are looking for a romantic read with lots of heart and humor, Not My Love Story is exactly what you are looking for.

Ok, a cute story, but not developed enough for me. It had potential and was cute, but it missed the mark for me. I didn't feel as connected to the characters/story, I know it was a novella, but I still think it missed the mark.

A fun short read. I wish the characters had a little more depth to them as I struggled to connect. I wish it was a little longer to give us time to connect with the MCs in the book.

First of all, the dedication was fantastic! Romance and other genres get a lot of side eye and snarky comments, read what makes you happy and hold your head up high.

And that's pretty much the only thing this book had going for it in my opinion. Not quite Grumpy/Sunshine trope, more like Cynic/Romantic, but even that doesn't fully fit. Harrison doesn't want to believe in love and Hayley survives on romance. Literally, it's her job. They have a history together and the foundation for this story is pretty much based on that history. This story fell flat for me. It was telling about the romance instead of making me feel it. I felt I was reading the script as they wrote it without any feelings, just the overall outline.

**This part may be spoilery, but they are more concerns and parts that need to be tweaked or thought out more.**

The references to being bisexual and the few queer couples or comments did not add to the story. They were almost second thoughts added to be able to include LGBTQIA+ in a tag for this book.

And I was thoroughly confused how this went from a calm low key romance to her wearing lingerie with thick straps and buckles and the mention of edging and squirting. Seriously, my face was like WTF. Again, it did not have a place in the story and felt like it came from left field.

This book did not work for me. I don’t typically read novellas because I feel like they try to squeeze so much plot into such a short book. But it all is surface level. I felt like I missed a lot of the background of the characters and didn’t feel deeply about either main character. I think this would work better as a longer book that could give more details to the plot.

This is the second book in the Movie Magic Novella Series. I really enjoyed the first one, Midnight, Repeated.

This one wasn't my favorite. I found the characters and story kinda flat. Glad it was a novella or it would have been a tough read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author & Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I did not read the first book in this series so I feel that I was missing a bit of Harrison and Hayley's backstory but I overall really enjoyed this novella. It was such a a good short read though I wish it was a bit longer. The writing style is different than what I usually read but I really liked it and found it unique!

*Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.*

Not My Love Story entails Harrison, a cynical screenwriter who hates romance; and Hayley, whom he shares a past with. After reading this novella, I was a bit confused as if I were missing pieces of a puzzle. It is now my understanding that this is the second instalment of a series; however, it is described as able to be read as a standalone. I felt that although the plot was well executed, this novella has the potential to be expanded on to become a novel.

Regardless, the slow-burn romance was well executed despite lacking a detailed back story. I loved the irony of these two MCs essentially writing a rom-com about themselves. Throughout this novella, you can expect the following tropes:
- Second-chance
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Colleagues to lovers
- Forced Proximity
- One Bed

Overall, this is a cute and fun rom-com with well-written spice. I recommend this to those looking for a quick rom-com to cleanse their reading pallet or to rid of a reading slump. It is very unfortunate that this is such a short read, would have loved it to be a little longer!